There are a variety of circumstances in which it may become necessary for an official to compel a marine vessel (e.g., a ship, boat, jet ski, submarine or the like) to slow or to come to a complete stop. For example, an official may need to slow or stop a vessel during a law enforcement, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction or marine environmental protection mission.
The problem is that operators engaged in illegal activities tend to run when confronted by law enforcement. Officials are precluded from using lethal means to stop fleeing vessel unless they are fired upon. Accordingly, a dangerous chase often ensues as officials attempt to stop the fleeing vessel with non-lethal entanglement devices.
As shown in FIG. 1, conventional entanglement devices 102 are primarily in the form of nets or line materials launched ahead of a fleeing vessel with the hope that the vessel will travel over the extended line and pull it into the vessel's propeller 101. These systems suffer from a number of drawbacks. First, the vessel operator typically sees the entanglement device being launched and so they may elude it by simply steering away from the device in the water. Second, such devices work by entangling the propeller and causing the drive train to stop. Accordingly, the operator may cause significant damage to an entangled motor by increasing the power to attempt to continue forward motion. Third, such devices must be removed from the water quickly after they are deployed. Nets and lines pose a danger to wildlife (e.g., birds, fish and the like) and other vessels when left in the water for an extended period of time.
Recently, an attempt has been made to produce entanglement devices that dissolve or degrade when left in the water for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, many of these devices either lack the strength necessary to slow or stop marine vessels, or are made from poorly degrading plastic polymers such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and/or aliphatic polyamides that have the potential to leave residual plastic debris in the waters for periods well beyond their intended use and purpose.
There remains a need for improved devices, materials, and methods to facilitate stopping or slowing of a maritime vessel. It would be beneficial if such materials had reduced deleterious effects on vessels and their operators so such devices could be deployed earlier in an engagement, even before hostile intent is established. It would be further beneficial if such devices were made from biodegradable and/or dissolvable materials so that they did not require officials to retrieve them after deployment. Such systems would need to be able to stop or slow specific maritime targets in different environments, under varying conditions, and in multiple scenarios.